ENGIE on the front line of sustainable mobility

As you know, this year’s European Mobility Week is being held on September 16 to 22. At ENGIE Electrabel, this event continues on throughout the whole year, as the company promotes mobility solutions powered by electricity or natural gas and implements an innovative, proactive company policy. It takes an integrated approach that produces positive results.

Travel as little as possible, encourage the use of public transport and shared, soft mobility, and make the remaining forms of transport as clean as possible: these are the three aims of ENGIE Electrabel’s integrated approach to sustainable mobility. The company has created a range of innovative solutions with this in mind.

Mobility powered by natural gas

Vehicles running on compressed natural gas (CNG) help to make mobility more environmentally friendly. CNG emits 12% less CO2 than diesel and 27% less than petrol, generates little fine particulate matter (-95%), costs €0.05 per kilometre, and burns cleaner, among other advantages. The development of the CNG distribution network is key to the rise in the use of vehicles powered by this fuel in Belgium.

This is why ENGIE Electrabel has been working on this for several years. Thanks to the company’s approach, it now runs five CNG filling stations with its partners and supplies a dozen other filling stations with CNG.

Electric mobility

Vehicles powered by electricity also offer a range of environmental benefits. For instance, they generate zero local emissions, consume three to four times less energy, and are quieter and more reliable. Of course, running on electricity also means having to recharge the vehicle.

With this in mind, ENGIE Electrabel has developed innovative solutions, such as the CarPlug, a charging system for individuals and businesses wanting to safely charge their vehicles. This solution is 60% faster than conventional plugs.

ENGIE Electrabel is also developing doubly efficient charging terminals that can recharge 80% of a battery in 30 minutes. This solution is particularly suited to professionals with specific mobility needs. These terminals are found throughout Belgium. For example, the terminal at the base of the ENGIE Tower in Brussels has already helped vehicles (including 50 Brussels taxis) to travel over one million kilometres in total, without emitting polluting gases.

An innovative, proactive company policy

ENGIE Electrabel naturally wants to set an example when it comes to sustainable mobility. In five years we have managed to change our workforce’s travelling habits considerably. 75% of our employees now use public transport to get to work, up from 30%.

We also want to minimise the number of journeys made, mainly through the use of videoconferencing. Our green mobility policy encourages cleaner solutions, such as a fleet of electric vehicles that our employees can use to travel from place to place, electric company cars, and employee mobility budgets that vary depending on how much pollution their vehicle emits.

Of course, we do not intend to stop there!

A key step in the energy transition

Mobility is key to shifting towards a more sustainable energy model. 30% of Europe’s CO2 emissions are generated by road transport. Progress and technological innovations are vital to cutting this percentage.

Our colleagues at ENGIE Cofely recently launched the first carport, where electric vehicles are charged using solar energy.

In Luxembourg, ENGIE Cofely has been given the go-ahead to install 800 charging terminals for electric vehicles.

ENGIE Cofely, ENGIE Fabricom and ENGIE LNG Solutions are launching a one-of-a-kind project at the Port of Antwerp, in which they are building an alternative energy platform supporting mobility as well as river and road transport.

However, sustainable mobility will go much further. Solutions and projects striving to improve infrastructure also help to enhance sustainable mobility.

ENGIE Cofely and ENGIE Fabricom are trailblazers in this regard. For instance, they are installing digital signage, which improves the flow of traffic, and number plate recognition cameras, which detect unreported or polluting vehicles. These two companies are also experts in traffic light coordination systems (which reduce traffic jams), dynamic parking guidance systems, and smart LED lighting in road tunnels.

There are many more projects of which little is known among the general public.